Grave Marker

7.7.75.1

About this object

This is a grave marker, now broken in two joining pieces. Below the small cornise is an inscription revealing that the grave stele was set up by the nurse of Herodotos Skyllionos.The main relief shows Herodotos as a young man, holding out his right hand in the characteristic pose of dexiosis and greeting his dead father who is seated .

The nurse who dedicated the monument however is young and stands to the left of the relief in the pudicitia pose: leaning on her left arm which is raised to her face, the right arm crossed at the front and supporting the left elbow. Her left leg is straight and the right one is bent and slightly to the side, supporting her weight. The drapery of her cloak accentuates the nurse's youthful body. She does not seem to be just a nurse but a full citizen woman. If she is Herodotus' nurse it is curious that at the age he is represented, he would not require a nurse. An explanation may be that representations of older women were rare in Hellenistic art and therefore the artist may have had no such references to draw upon.

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